Every summer we hike into the alpine regions of Interior Mountains, often to the summits of peaks. We enjoy the sub-alpine meadows on the way up, then we pass the treeline to the alpine zone where we will encounter tarns and seasonal alpine plants. At the upper end of the alpine zone, we reach the tundra of the mountain top and only a few plants can be found there, like white avens, yellow draba, and moss campion. Whenever we encounter the bright pink mats of moss campion, it is usually in the most barren spots, swept by cold winds, often in the fellfields below the summit. It is always a welcome sight.

• Silene acaulis is a low-growing perennial in the pink family.
• Under all the leaves is a sturdy taproot and a woody, branched base.
• Many overlapping linear/lanceolate basal leaves form a mat.
• Many small pink flowers bloom on very short stalks.
• Moss campion usually has 5 petals and 5 sepals around a bell-shaped calyx.
• The whole mass of leaves and flowers often has a cushion or rounded mat shape.
• All photos taken by the author. Click an image for a caption and a larger image.

• Moss campion can be found in the alpine zone in spaces among rocks and in fellfields, on exposed ridges, or on higher zones of alpine meadows.
• Capsules form after flowering. Seeds disperse in the wind but the plant also expands slowly through an extended root system.
• It is also called cushion plant, cushion pink, or compass plant.
• Stems and leaves are sticky, discouraging some insects from feeding on the leaves.
• Dead leaves often last for years, adding a layer of protection for the roots of the plant (see the photo above).
• The plant is closely related to carnations and can be found world-wide, mostly at high elevations.
• The pant can live for hundreds of years. One in Alaska is estimated to be 350 years old.
• Other alpine plants may grow around moss campion, the roots benefitting from the shelter of the dense mat in the harsh environment.

We will be back to the summits in July again this year and we will be privileged again to witness the flowering of moss campion, one of the highlights of the year.